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 Hard
Lesson. Happy Ending
By Rhee Gold
What
seemed like a betrayal led to personal and professional growth
for one school owner
“We did not
build this business alone; we did it with the help of
fabulously talented teachers, office staff, and others who
contributed to the success of our school,” exclaims Helen
Wilson. But after 10 years in business, Wilson and her
partner, Diane Levesque, were about to discover that one of
those teachers would teach them a very hard lesson.
That
teacher, Debby, started out as a student at the school and
quickly became very close to Wilson. “Debby was like the
little sister I never had,” Wilson comments. Eventually Debby
became an assistant teacher, although she needed a lot of
coaching to make the transition. “Debby had a hard time
relating to the recreational or less advanced students and an
even harder time teaching younger children. Sometimes she had
obvious ‘favorites,’ and she needed to learn to respect the
feelings of her students,” Wilson explains. “She worked best
with the more advanced dancers, so we gave her the more
talented kids. It worked out well because we needed that at
the time.” Debby shone when it came to the competitive
dancers; she was a good choreographer and had some excellent
soloists. Wilson says, “Soon Debby was groomed into a terrific
teacher and she was working with the kids she handled best.”
The school owners made sure that Debby received credit for her
hard work; when a parent raved about one of her pieces, they
told them, “Go tell Debby.”
Once Wilson
and Levesque felt comfortable with Debby’s abilities, they
offered her a package that included an annual salary and paid
vacations, holidays, snow days, and continuing education.
Wilson told her accountant that Debby was worth the benefits
given her, and that it was a matter of trust and loyalty.
One of the
conditions of employment at Wilson’s school is that all
teachers, assistant teachers, and office staff must sign a
non-compete agreement, which states that employees are not
permitted to open a school or teach for another school within
a certain distance, nor can they solicit students from the
school. The agreement holds regardless of the reason for the
employee’s termination. However, Wilson has made exceptions
for employees who asked to teach at nearby schools because her
goal is good communication with her employees. “It’s not a
problem as long as we’re all working together,” she says.
After Debby
had been teaching for two years, Wilson and Levesque asked her
about her aspirations. Debby told Wilson that she wanted to
open a school in the next town and asked whether the terms
(specifically the distance from her employers’ school) of the
non-compete agreement could be changed. Wilson’s attorney
advised her to proceed with caution. The talks continued, but
the positive attitude that permeated early discussions quickly
deteriorated. The school owners tried to come up with an
agreement that would satisfy everybody, without success. “We
realized that there wasn’t going to be a happy ending to this
situation. We just wanted to make it through the season, but
we also knew Debby had to go,” says Wilson.
After one
of Wilson’s former teachers agreed to take over Debby’s
classes, Wilson planned a meeting with Debby to discuss her
departure, and Debby said she was ready to be fired. That day,
the school’s phone started ringing. Apparently, Debby had
called the students, telling them that she had been fired for
no reason and that it was horrible that she was not allowed to
open a school.
“We felt
like Debby was trying to destroy us,” says Wilson. “We had a
rough week or two answering everyone’s questions, but we tried
to not divulge the entire story to our customers. We didn’t
think that the students needed to know, nor did we think they
would understand what had happened. We felt that our
reputation stood for itself.” Most parents were very
supportive without much explanation; some needed to know more
because they had heard only one side of the story. It helped
that the parents felt that the school had always looked out
for the best interest of their children and that the students
loved their new teacher.
A week
later, Wilson received a letter from Debby’s attorney
demanding that they not use any of her choreography. Despite
advice from her attorney that she could continue using it,
Wilson decided to give the students a fresh start. Creating
new choreography built camaraderie among the students and
staff, and everyone worked together to get through a tough
time.
After much
contemplation, Wilson and Levesque discussed the circumstances
of Debby’s departure with the students. They explained that
Debby was opening a school and that although they allowed
students to take classes elsewhere, doing so at Debby’s school
was not an option. The students and their parents were happy
to finally have everything out in the open.
For a long
time Wilson wondered if she could have done anything
differently, but she finally decided that everything happens
for a reason and that something good would come of the
situation. What soon became clear was that as a result of this
experience, she and her partner had become savvier business
owners.
A year
later, when Debby opened her school, (not in the next town,
but a few miles away), Wilson’s school was barely affected.
Wilson decided not to sue Debby, deciding that it didn’t make
sense financially. Also, the school’s business had increased,
and the few students that did leave probably would have left
anyway. “Things do happen for a reason,” Wilson says, “and
while this situation took a toll on my life and I have a few
gray hairs, it turned out that our business is bigger and
better than ever. And we’re so much smarter!”
Editor’s
Note: Helen Wilson was the only person interviewed for this
article, therefore it represents only her point of view.
However, experiences like Wilson’s appear to be on the
rise—through our readers and colleagues we at the Goldrush
note an increasing number of similar stories.
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